(Alliance News) - Snam Spa announced on Tuesday that Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa has granted the company a EUR200 million ESG-linked loan for the reconstruction of the Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline.

The work will strengthen the infrastructure dedicated to transporting natural gas from southern to northern Italy and will also be compatible with the transport of hydrogen: thus ensuring the safety and competitiveness of the country's energy system while pursuing the decarbonization goals outlined by the EU. The main line will be completed by 2026.

The ESG-linked financing, in particular, is linked to annual sustainability targets to the achievement of which the credit line spread is tied and has a four-year maturity. This sustainable loan follows the EUR300 million loan granted in April 2023 by CDP to Snam for the construction of the Adriatic Line, the new pipeline under construction that aims to ensure an increase in the transportation capacity of entry points located in Southern Italy and whose phase 1 is among the projects to be financed under the RepowerEU Plan. The Ravenna-Chieti pipeline will be interconnected to this facility.

Carlo Lamari, head of Infrastructure at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, commented, "CDP's support for sustainable development is also achieved by supporting strategic infrastructure projects for the country, citing the objectives of our Strategic Plan, with a particular focus on the environment as in this case. An example of crucial infrastructure is major works such as Snam's Ravenna-Chieti gas pipeline rehabilitation, which, once completed, will be functional to the national grid also in view of the energy transition. Our logic of intervention will continue to be complementary to the banking system, and confirms the validity of the support in favor of Snam's Adriatic Line to which CDP has secured the necessary resources for the start-up of the project with a EUR300 million loan."

"Consistent with the growing importance that sustainable finance and related instruments are assuming in the current scenario, we have aligned our financial strategy with the group's sustainability goals by making a tangible contribution to the path to net zero at 2050 that Snam has undertaken," explained Luca Passa, Snam's Chief Financial Officer. This commitment has resulted in the definition of a new target aimed at increasing the weight of sustainable finance in total funding to 85 percent by 2027. This ESG-linked financing from CDP, linked to the achievement of sustainable goals, enhances Snam's ambition to invest in infrastructure works that respect the principle of the energy trilemma, namely safety, competitiveness and sustainability, pursuing the country's decarbonization and energy transition goals."

The Ravenna-Chieti pipeline consists of 292 kilometers of main pipeline and 133 kilometers of secondary lines, and provides natural gas transportation service to areas along the Adriatic coastal strip, from the province of Ravenna to the province of Chieti, affecting Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Abruzzo.

Snam's stock is down 0.1 percent at EUR4.47 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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